Dreams Of Darkness
by Leah Bea
Summary: ::done:: Sakura has lost the Star Key! Sakura was raped! Guess who saved her? Yep, Li. What will Sakura do now without the key, & having to face a descision that could change everything?
1. Disaster

Hi everyone! I'm Bea, and I hope you enjoy this story. I have to say though, this is my first Card Captor  
(Sakura) story, and um... I have read a lot of the manga, but haven't watched all that much of the Anime, Working on  
that. :-) Anyway, any comments and suggestions are really appreciated! (Good and Bad) In case you're wondering,  
this story deals with delicate things which are rather adult.(Rape, mainly) I won't be going into detail about what  
happens, but if you don't like the idea, that's fine, I'm not going to force you to read. Uh, the characters I'm going to  
use are not mine, they belong to CLAMP. only a small number, which will have small parts, will be mine. This is  
probably going to be a Sakura and Li story. I'm rather in the dark about most of this series, so please, if you're a  
hard-core Card Captor fan, then please exuse any errors I might have. Okay, enough of this rambling.  
Oh! One more thing, though. I wrote this while listening to Mannheim Steamroller's CD, Christmas Extraodiare,  
Tack 6, and I got the idea after reading a book that dealt with this kind of thing. I think if you own this CD, you  
should listen to it while reading. Okay? Please? Fine.... Shutting up now.   
  
Dreams of Darkness  
Part I  
"Disaster"  
  
Sakura stood in the now empty classroom, the lights were off, but it being the afternoon, the sunlight provided  
more than enough light, though not as much as the summer sun did. It was December a week from Christmas, and  
was rather cold, but Sakura hadn't a jacket, since she had forgotten it. She knew she would be late getting home, she  
had to find her necklace. The small charm which she always wore, and was really the Star Staff, in it's smaller  
version, and key form, had been lost. Of course, this was weird since the chain was undamaged, and she didn't think  
it could have fallen off. She hadn't told Li of this yet, she knew he wouldn't be happy, and Tomoyo had been absent  
so she hadn't a chance to inform her. Sakura was searching every possible spot that the key could have fallen, and yet  
she couldn't find it. 'Maybe I lost it somewhere else?' She thought as she got to her knees from the crawling position  
and sighed deeply. If she didn't find the key, she wouldn't be able to use the Star Cards, and Clow Cards. Yes, it had  
been a while since she had passed the Final Judgment, and she had yet to convert a good percentage of the Clow  
Cards, to Star Cards.   
"Sakura? What are you doing here?" Li asked as he walked into the room and found Sakura on her knees, staring  
up at the ceiling, her emerald green eyes shimmering in the sunlight with tears. Sakura quickly stood and looked at Li,  
her hand going up to her neck as she pulled out the chain which held her Star Key, prepared to battle. "Li..." Sakura  
whispered, her hand dropping as she realized who it was, and with the hand, her empty chain. Li gave Sakura a  
questioning look. "What are -you- doing here?" Sakura asked evasively. "I had Soccer practice and came to get my  
stuff, but why are you here?" Li asked, lifting up his backpack as proof and quickly getting back on the topic.  
"IlosttheStarKey,Li,I'msooooooosorry.Idon'tevenknowhow!" Sakura said quietly, in a whisper. Li dropped his  
backpack to the floor and stared at Sakura in shock. "Sakura! You know t-" Li was interrupted by Sakura's tears and  
she said, "I know Li, I know..." She stared down at her feet, the tears falling. "I-I have to go..." Sakura said as she  
grabbed her backpack and ran from the room.   
Li stared after her, he knew he should run after her, but what then? Comfort her? How? Li had pretty much  
locked away his heart after.... "Shoot!" Li mumbled angrily as he grabbed his own backpack, and ran after Sakura  
before his mind had any idea of what was going on.  
  
  
Sakura was out of the doors of the school and wanted to just fly away from here. She knew Li might follow  
her, and if she could fly, he wouldn't be able to. A block from home, she wasn't sure if she had lost Li or not, she was  
stopped by some man. The man had blue eyes, and blue hair that was rather spiky. He smiled harshly at Sakura, and  
proceeded to ask, "Are you lost, little girl?" Sakura shook her head, fearful of this man, and tried to walk past him.  
"Are you sure? You -look- lost." He said, grabbing, and holding onto Sakura's wrist. "Let me take you home, little  
girl." The man said coldly as he led her into an alley. "Let me go!" Sakura screamed as loud as she could, but the  
streets were deserted. The man's other cold hand reached for Sakura's mouth, and he clamped the hand over it so she  
could not scream again.   
"Little girl, aren't you sleepy?" He asked as he opened one of the doors that led into the alley and led her into a  
room where there was a mattress, old, and moldy. The man took some of the rope that was lying in the room, and  
tied Sakura's arms together, over her head, and to the hook about the bed. He then proceeded to smile as he put a  
piece of fabric on which he had put something like liquid on, into her mouth. Sakura soon fell unconscious.  
  
Li growled in frustration. She had been in his sights the entire way, until she turned the corner a block  
from her home, and Li had been stopped by a change in the traffic. When he had been allowed to go on, she was  
gone. It was a straight way from there to her house, and he didn't think she could have been that fast. But still, he  
couldn't find her.   
"Let me go!" A painfully familiar voice cried out. Li recognized it as Sakura's immediately and ran straight ahead.   
Li didn't hear, or see, a sign of Sakura from that last scream. "Come on..." Li growled. Finally he passed it, the alley.  
After hearing a cry, he ran down the alley and tried to place out of which the cry could have come from. Not another  
sound was heard, and Li started to fear the worst....  
AN: So? What do you think? Tell me! Also, any mistakes, please correct me. Thanks! -Bea 


	2. Help

Hi Everyone! Everything I would be saying here is on the last chapter, so let's just move on now, shall we?  
  
Dreams of Darkness  
Part II  
"Help"  
  
Finally, Li found the door which he was sure he would find Sakura behind. But in what condition? Li tried the  
door knob, already knowing it wouldn't open, and was right. The door was locked. Li pushed his shoulder against it  
once, and upon receiving the injury the large metal door would give him, learned that that wouldn't work either.  
"You have to open!" Li said through gritted teeth as he called forward his large sword. "Elements... Wind!" He  
whispered and the door rattled in it's hinged before it's bolt broke from the force and it flew open. It was too dark  
inside to see much, but Li saw enough for him. The man was currently pulling on his pants, he looked up at Li and  
stopped for a moment. Li looked around as best as he could, and saw a limp, frail for in the corner of the room on a  
mattress. His sword forgotten Li ran to Sakura.   
The man laughed at Li as he said in a mocking voice, "Hello little boy, playing hero are you? It's a rather  
dangerous game you kno-" The man's jeering was silenced as Li's foot met his mouth. The man fell back, and landed  
in a pile of cans. Scrambling out of the pile the man grabbed his shirt and ran through the door, knowing that Li was  
not one to be messed with right now.   
"God, Sakura..." Li breathed as he looked over at her once more. He walked back over to the mattress and  
picked up his sword on the was. "Elements, fire." He whispered, his voice a sea of emotion as he directed the flames  
to a piece of wood by the bed. The fire gave enough light for Li to see Sakura well. Her arms were still tied above her  
head and hooked there, he legs were each tied to an item that Li couldn't make sense of. Sakura had been stripped,  
her clothing lay in ruins on both sides of her, he body bled from various cuts and she had many bruises from where  
that man's hands had been. "What did he do to you?" Li asked as he took off his black coat and covered Sakura as  
best he could with it, he then picked her up and left the room.  
Li stood in the alley a moment longer than he wanted, and stared down at Sakura's face, wondering if she looked  
like this when she slept, he knew she was a silent sleeper, but since he sat behind her, he had never seen her face while  
she took naps at school because they had stayed up late catching a card, or because of odd dreams she would have. Li  
shook his head, this wasn't the time to be thinking of things like this. Right now he should be taking her home.   
  
When Li reached Sakura's home, she was stirring a little, "...Li..." She mumbled, and then fell silent once  
more. Li looked down at Sakura with a great sadness in his eyes as he thought about what had happened to her  
moment before. Li knocked on the door, and Touya answered, when he saw Sakura, his face changed from that of  
hate, to thanks, to pain and he took Sakura from Li, taking her up to her room and laying her down in the bed.   
"Wait in the hall a moment..." Touya mumbled as he went to the dresser and pulled out her PJs and such. Li  
nodded and headed out to the hall, closing the door behind him.   
'I could have stopped it...' Li thought painfully as he leaned against the wall next to the door. Li stared at the picture  
of Touya, Sakura, and Sakura's father, It was taken last Christmas. All of them were smiling and standing infront of  
the tree, Sakura had little bunny-ears, thanks to Touya. Li wondered if she would ever be like that again. 'What if  
she's never the same?' Li thought, it would break his heart to have to see a different version of Sakura. 'If she  
changes it will all be because of you...' Li's mind told him miserably. The bedroom door opened shortly after and Li  
stepped in. Touya sat on Sakura's bed, staring down at his younger sister, a look that Li couldn't quite recognize. Li  
stood in the doorway for a long while looking at Touya and Sakura. Guilt once more flooded him as a little voice  
inside his head said coldly, 'It's all because of you.' Touya looked at Li and his expression changed instantly, again, it  
was something that Li couldn't recognize. "What happened to her?" Touya asked, anger hidden under other emotions  
in his voice. "She was raped..." Li said quietly, shifting his gaze from Sakura to his feet. "Who did it?" Touya asked,  
though he already knew Li would say he wasn't sure. "I-I don't know his name... But I saw what he looked like." Li  
said, looking up once more at Touya.   
They stared at each for a long moment, then Touya promptly rose and left the room heading down stairs, to the  
phone. Li stayed in Sakura's room and looked around for Kero, finding him sleeping in Sakura's desk drawer.  
"Keroberos, wake up!" Li said in Kero's ear. Kero flew up, shocked from sleep, and met eyes with Li. "Li?! What are  
you doing here?!" Kero yelled out, before remembering to keep quiet, Kero then noticed the nasty bruise on Sakura's  
face, seeing as the blanket covered her up to her chin. "What happened to Sakura?" Kero asked, flying toward her.  
"She.... she was raped..." Li whispered coarsely, his voice shaking. Kero stopped in mid-flap, and nearly fell but Li  
caught him. "W-what?" Kero asked, a blank expression coming over his face.   
"...officer....raped.....yes.... no.... come over...." Touya's voice carried up the stairs and was followed by a soft  
click, but perhaps it was actually a slam, and Touya's footsteps were heard coming up the stairs. Kero went back into  
the desk, and Li stood watching the doorway. Touya appeared moment later, and he looked at Li with a look that  
said a lot, yet nothing. "You... should go home." Touya said. "But aren't' the police coming?" Li asked, becoming  
defensive.   
"No. They don't think they'll be able to find him, and since the latest murder of that famous actress who was in  
town, they don't have enough investigators...." Touya said, clenching his had into a fist. Li slammed the palm of his  
hand down on the desk and said, "What?! They can't do that!" Li yelled, overcome with anger, and ever more with  
guilt. 'This all happened because of you, and now the guy will never be caught.' Li's mind told him. Sakura's emerald  
eyes opened and looked at the ceiling. "Sakura?" Touya said, uncertainty evident in his voice.   
"Hmm?" Sakura mumbled, her eyes drooping. "I'm so sorry, Sakura..." Li whispered as Sakura drifted back to  
sleep. Touya caught this comment, and turned his gaze to Li in a moment's notice. "What do you mean, 'I'm so  
sorry?'" Touya asked. "I-I'm... I have to go home.... Just tell Sakura that I'm sorry, and I'll find her missing necklace  
charm..." Li said as he turned and left the room. The front door was heard closing behind him and Touya was quite  
suspicious of Li at that moment. Touya looked at his little sister, got out off of the bed, and left once more to call  
Yuki.   
Moments later, Sakura opened her eyes once more. She uncovered herself, and got out of bed, stumbling in pain  
and grogginess from whatever that man had given her. "Kero?" She called, her voice hoarse. Kero came out of the  
drawer and sat of the desk ledge, watching Sakura. "What happened, Kero? How did I get back here?" Sakura asked,  
leaning again her dresser for support. "Li brought you home.... Do you remember anything?" Kero asked, concern  
filling his voice. "I-I can't remember anything past having something stuffed into my mouth, and being tied up..."   
"Sakura, you... you were raped...." Kero said, tears falling from his eyes. Sakura fell to her knees, hitting her head  
against a drawer handle, tears welling up in her eyes. "He-he raped me... God... No...." She whispered, the tears  
welling up, and spilling over.....  
  
  
Li sat in his appartment, holding his sword, and running his hand up the blade and back again, all of  
which he had no idea he was doing. Until he cut himself. The red, sticky liquid ran swiftly down the blad from the  
palm of his hand. Though he put the sword down, he didn't make any other move to stop the bleeding. The events of  
earlier that day replaying through his mind.  
  
i"I had Soccer practice and came to get my stuff, but why are you here?" Li asked, lifting up his backpack as  
proof and quickly getting back on the topic. "IlosttheStarKey,Li,I'msooooooosorry.Idon'tevenknowhow!" Sakura  
said quietly, in a whisper. Li dropped his backpack to the floor and stared at Sakura in shock. "Sakura! You know  
t-" Li was interrupted by Sakura's tears and she said, "I know Li, I know..." She stared down at her feet, the tears  
falling. "I-I have to go..." Sakura said as she grabbed her backpack and ran from the room.   
Li stared after her, he knew he should run after her, but what then? Comfort her? How? Li had pretty much  
locked away his heart after.... "Shoot!" Li mumbled angrily as he grabbed his own backpack, and ran after Sakura  
before his mind had any idea of what was going on./i  
Why did he hesitate? If he hadn't hesitated, he would have caught up to her, stopped her, and so the entire  
thing wouldn't have happened! Why did he hesitate.....? 


	3. End

_Hi! It's me! (Who else?) Okay, my comp. is STILL broken, looks like I busted it worse than I had thought and it'll take a LONG time until it's fixed. In the mean time though, I finally got permission from my Dad to use his computer for this. (He doesn't know it's for a fan fic though, he thinks it's for a report, so no one tell!) Anyway the REAL part three is here! :-) Thanks for all the great reviews, and I hope this is good enough to meet those. :-)  
-Bea_  


~*~

  
  
Yukito looked at the ringing phone, he had a bad feeling about this call. "Moshi Moshi, Yukito speaking." Yukito answered, the omminous feeling growing larger and worse by the miliseconds of silence on the other end of the line. "Yuki? I need you to come over..." The familiar voice of Touya replied, his voice soft and filled with an emotion Yukito wasn't familiar with from his best friend's lips. Hurt. That's that the emotion was. But why? Why was this emotion there? "I'll be right there, but why do you want me to come over?" Yukito asked, curious and now deeply concerned for Touya. A clunk was heard on the other end, it sounded like it was from upstairs. "Yuki, just come over." Touya then hung up the phone and the dial tone took his voice's place. Yukito hung up the phone as well, and put on a brown jacket, zipping it all the way up, Yukito ran to the shed in back to get his bike.  
  


Only minutes, which had seemed to be hours to Touya and Yukito, had passed before a swift knock came at the door. Touya answered the door, a worried expression on his face. Yukito came in quickly and met Touya's eyes, "What's this about?" He asked. Touya just turned and started up the stairs, knowing that Yukito would follow. As they neared the pink door which belonged to Sakura, Yukito heard a soft sobbing. Knocking on the door, Touya entered and found Sakura sitting on the edge of her bed, tears streaming down her face, which was in her hands. "Sakura-chan?" Yukito asked, unsure of what was happening. Touya looked at his sister and swiftly turned his eyes away from her, unable to look at her while she was in such a state. He was no good at comforting anyone. He didn't know anything. Yukito was one of the closest people to Sakura, and he thought that he should know, if Sakura would tell him of course. "Go away... Please, Yuki-kun... Touya. Just go away..." Sakura mumbled into her hands. "Sakura, I'll go make you some tea, it should help you relax." Touya said in a quiet voice as he left the room, closing the door behind him. Kero the came out of the desk drawer and looked gravely at Yukito, who was walking toward Sakura. After sitting down on the bed with Sakura, Yukito hugged her and asked her what was wrong. Sakura remained silent and just continued to sob. "...Sakura...? Please, tell me what's wrong." Yukito whispered. "I... He... r-r-raped me... Li.... " Sakura whispered hoarsely. Yukito's eyes widened with shock as he asked, "What!? Sakura, what about Li?" Sakura shook her head, which was pressed against Yukito's shirt, her tears wetting the front of the fabric quite well. "We don't know... She won't tell us what happened at all..." Kero said, regret in his voice. In a brilliant white flash of light, it was Yue who comforted Sakura now. Yue's eyes were filled with a cold furry and he angrily whispered to Kero, "We don't know? What about Li-san? How could this have happened...?" Yue's voice dropped lower and he was barely heard, the anger had left his voice and he held Sakura. Kero shook his head saddly. "No one knows who it was. The Gaki... We don't know what happened..."   
"Yue... I'm going for a walk..." Sakura said quietly as she rose and headed for the door. "Sakura..." Kero said, staring at the back of Sakura. "Ja ne." Sakura said as she left the room, running into Touya who was about to come in. Touya stared at her, and told her to stay at home...   
Sakura did that night, knowing that Touya would probably camp outside her door, and either Kero or Yue out of the window.   
  


~*Two Weeks Passed*~

  
  


Sakura sat in the doctor's office, more talkative than she had been since it all happened, Touya and Yukito knew it was because she was nervous of the test results. Finally, Doctor Sherman, the american doctor came of the room where the lab was, and shook his head. "Sakura, I'm so sorry.... It came up as possitive. You've conceived... You could get an abortion, or keep the child, maybe even addoption?" Dr. Sherman said saddly. Sakura had made a promise to herself she wouldn't cry, and stayed true to her promise.  
  
"I want to think about it..." Sakura said boldly, they all then left after filling out paper work and talking to Dr. Sherman a bit more. Once home Sakura grabbed her backpack, she had been prepared for this for a long time now. After telling Kero, and Touya that she was leaving, Sakura stepped out of the house. The neighborhood children playing didn't seem at all right, at least to her. 'How can those children play when such horrible things are happening?' Sakura wondered and she ran past them. She ran to a place she had only been once, Li's appartment.  


When she got there, she found it to be empty. "Good." Sakura whispered she hadn't wanted to see Li, knowing he would try to tell her not to do this as Kero had two weeks prior. Sakura used a pin she had brought for this reason to pick the lock on Li's door, and went inside the dark appartment. Looking around for paper and pen, Sakura wrote a note. She placed the note in the book she was going to leave, and then, quick as she came, she left.   
  


Li came home late that night, Meilin had insisted they have a marathon of movies, and was worried the entire time of how Sakura was doing. He hadn't seen her since that day. She wouldn't take visitors, or phone calls. When he tiredly flopped down on his bed, his fingers brushed against something had. Sitting up to investigate, he found that what he had touched was the Clow (Star, Sakura, whatever) Book. He gasped, and opened the book to find all the Star Cards, and a white piece of paper. He unfolded it, and read:  
  


::Dear Li,  
  
I'm sorry that I have to do this, please take the Cards and watch over Kero for me. Yue, I think, can take care of himself. I think it's better if I do this, I want you to know that I care for you more than you may think, and that I'm thankful for you saving me, so many times. If you wonder where I am, just smile and think to yourself that I'm happy. No one will ever need an explanation about me. And I am so horribly sorry for all of this.... You know where to find me if you wish to. I really am sorry that I have to do this... Live a long and good life.... Though I know in a day or two, you'll have forgotten me...  
  
Love,   
Sakura::   


Tears ran down Li's face as he completed the letter. He quickly fanned out the cards and noticed that she had taken one card... Already knowing where Sakura had gone, he ran to that place.   
  


"Sakura!" He screamed as he saw Sakura holding the card. In her hand was the Star Key that he had returned to her after finding it a few days later, Li now regretted more than anything, giving it back to her...  
  
"ERASE! Erase the memory of me from everyone, myself, and you, Erase!" Sakura cried out as she released the Erase card which was revealed in it's true form, and began to do the task it was given saddly. Sakura turned to face Li and smiled as she said, "Good bye..." Sakura then disappeared, and the card vanished as well. Li fell to his knees and wept like he had never. Why did she have to do it? Why....?   


~*~

  


Li once more returned home and flopped down on his bed, the tears had ceased long ago, and he stared at the letter in his hand... Looking at the fanned out cards infront of him, Li called upon the Create. He knew he could bring Sakura back by using this card, but... Why? No one would remember her... She would never have wanted that. Instead, Li pulled out the Shield. "Shield, protect me from the Erase card..." Li whispered as he tapped the card with his sword....   
He knew he would be the only one to ever remember Sakura, but he would rather have known her, than to ever forget her smiling face as she laughed along with Tomoyo over one thing or another....   


center>~*~

  
:-) I hope that wasn't all that sad, I really hadn't meant it to be. Gomen ne. Anyway, what do you think?   
THE END/HTML  



	4. Lost

  
It was late on that particular October night. Well past midnight, anyone who didn't work at night and was in their right mind would have been asleep by now. Li, however, just could not seem to sleep this night. He was tired, he knew this, after such a long day of schooling and training. Still, he just could not seem to get his thoughts to be silenced once more.   
It was Sakura, again. She had been plaguing his dreams ever since she had erased herself. Sakura must have known that he hadn't let her go, that he had shielded himself from the card. Every time she appeared in his dreams, she was asking him to just let the Erase work on him, that she should just be put to rest. Li, however, had refused to do so every night that she appeared. He knew quite well that it was foolish of him to mourn her loss alone, since no one else remembered the vibrant girl.   
Yue detested the idea of having Li as a master, though he tried to be like Sakura and be the Judges friend. The two simply didn't get along at all. Kero, as well, was not quite fond of having to guard the little 'gaki,' as he pointed out every chance he was allowed to. Many times Li had come close to using the Silence on the stuffed animal-looking creature. He hadn't yet, though.   
The two guardians soon noticed their powers were weakening due to two things, one being that the cards had not yet been transformed yet, and two being that their new master was loosing interest in his magic. Li couldn't possibly care less that his skills were fading, he would stay up for days on end with little or no sleep. Nothing seemed quite right for him any more. When Kero and Yue saw this fact, they took him to a doctor.   
Now, Li slept only when he took a sleeping medication. Tonight, he had taken it, but still it didn't work like it should have. He laid there in his bed, staring up at the ceiling with wide brown eyes thinking of the past year. His mother had ordered him to go back to his training and studying, she had even sent an instructor to make sure that he did this. Li hated the man that watched him closely day and night. This night, however, the old man wasn't to be seen but to be heard. He was snoring loudly in the room next to Li's.   
With a groan of displeasure, Li got out of his bed and slowly dressed. He took his house keys as he left and decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator to get out of the apartment building. He needed to move. He couldn't seem to sit still, something about tonight told him to just move. And so, he did. He didn't know where he was going to go, but decided it hardly mattered. He let his feet carry him where ever they pleased as he thought about the girl who had 'died' nearly a year ago.   
  
It hurt him physically to walk by the park which he had last seen her. He could still hear her voice as she told him good-bye. Why didn't he try harder to stop her? Why hadn't he tried harder to help her? Why had she had to suffer like that when he probably easily could have helped her? Why was life so unfair....?   
Sakura had been so innocent, so little, she shouldn't have had to go through that. She had, however. What was in the past was in the past, he should just forget it all. Maybe Sakura was right.   
Li froze as he ran over his last thought once again, disbelieving that he had just thought that. He continued past the park, trying not to look back behind him at the last place she had been seen. Once again, Li became lost in thought as he wandered through the streets at night. Why was it they had had to be rivals? Why couldn't they have been friends? Or maybe more than that? Why hadn't he just ignored the Elders wishes and done what his heart told him to? God, he hated himself for all of that. It had all been his fault, anyhow.   
A chill suddenly swept through his body as the icy night breeze nipped at his exposed arms. He hadn't bothered with a long sleeved shirt, or even a jacket. Quite stupid of him, really. Li hugged himself tightly and rubbed his arms, trying to regain a little bit of the warmth he had lost. That was when he stopped and looked up at where he was. A two story house with a nice front yard and a fence loomed over him.   
A light was on upstairs, in her bedroom. 'Maybe... maybe she's back?' He thought hopefully as he once again found his feet moving their own way and realized he was heading toward the door.   
How many times had he done this before? Just coming here in the middle of the night and knocking on her door, either because of a card, or and emergency. He smiled slightly as he rang the door bell and heard a muffled cursing coming down the stairs as someone came to answer the door. From the cursing, Li guessed it was Sakura's brother.   
Sure enough, Touya opened the door, looking murderous as he laid on Li. No one should have woken him up.   
"Um... Hi, Touya, is Sakura home?" Li asked automatically before he could realize what he was doing. The man in front of him glared daggers and looked all the more ready to kill.   
"There isn't anyone here named 'Sakura,' gaki." He growled as he prepared to slam the door. Li quickly begged for him to wait a second.   
"I-- I know I have to have the wrong house.... but.... Um, I'm sorry.... I-- I guess I can't say much more. Anyway, I'm sorry. Goodnight." Li whispered as he turned away from the door and started to walk away.   
"Hey, gaki, come back when the sun's up. I almost feel like I know you, maybe we could talk then?" Touya called after Li, much to both their surprise. Li turned around and forced a smile, he nodded and then hurried away.   
  
  
It had been a week since that night, and Li still hadn't returned to Sakura's old home to talk to Touya. It was too painful. He knew if he walked in that door, he would keep looking towards the stairs, expecting her to say good afternoon.   
Now he sat at the kitchen table at dinner time, his old instructor was glancing at him every once and a while from the kitchen as Li played with his food. It was steak tonight, and Li couldn't help but pick up the knife and simply stare at it in his hand. Maybe he could just....   
No, he couldn't' do that, it would be an insult to her. Right? It had been even harder for him to function ever since that night. It was so difficult to just look out the window and see the sun, knowing she would have loved the perfect day. Would it really be that hard to do as she had? To just disappear? Li suddenly stood from the table and walked back to his room.   
"Master?" The aging man called after the boy as he left.   
"Just going to my room. Thanks, for everything." Li called back over his shoulder as he entered the room that was his. On the bed sat the book of cards. He stared at it grimly and then opened it and pulled out his transformed sword from the book. As he touched it and brought it out, the sword became just what it was, a magical sword. Li regarded it for a moment before he raised it up above his head and aimed low. He felt it go through him and inhaled sharply as the pain registered in his mind.   
Even if it was and insult to her, he still couldn't bear it any longer. He couldn't live with that pain. Let the eternity was it all away for him. He welcomed the darkness into his mind as he closed his eyes one last time, but as he heard the hurried steps of his instructor.   
"MASTER!" He had yelled out, and that was the last thing Li had ever heard as he fell forward and landed on his stomach. Unlike Sakura, he would not be forgotten due to magic, but over time.... History always forgets you.   
  
  
Li stared at the hill in front of him, sakura petals littered the green object and he smiled slightly as he inhaled their sweet scent, everything here was so bright. That was when he noticed her, she was standing among the blossoms, and grim expression on her face, along with a small smile. "Li... Why are you here? Did you....?" Her voice trailed off slightly as she motioned to the land around them. Li nodded slightly and started to answer her verbally, "Sakura, I--" "How could you! You shouldn't be here! No! Li, how could you do that to yourself?" Sakura cried, tears falling from her eyes as she watched her friend and rival walked toward her. "It hurt, Sakura.... Being there by myself.... I'm so sorry about everything.... It was all my fault.... I'm so--" "It wasn't, just shut up about it all. I never want to think about it again!" Sakura whispered to him as he put his arms around her and she leaned into him a bit. "I'm sorry..... but, I hope you can forgive me." Li whispered softly. "Of course I do.... But, Li, we both really shouldn't be here... My mom wants me to go back home, and you need to come with me. You belong there now, I guess." Sakura said as she leaned away from Li and looked at his face. Li nodded again and Sakura smiled widely. The two of them then disappeared in a bright flash, their laughter slowly fading away....   
Two stories ended within a year. One was that of a young girl with a strong magical talent and instinct. The other was of a young boy who was a rival to this girl, and shared a magical talent with her. Their stories have now come to a bitter end....   
  
_Oi... So, how was that? This is quite seriously the end of the end. I hope you enjoyed it, if not then I apologize, just go with my original ending if you prefer that. LEAVE ME REVIEWS DANG IT! I wanna know what you think I did wrong/right or whether or not this was good or bad! Plllllleeeeeaaaaaseeeee tellllll meeeee!   
  
-Bea_


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